Umberto III, Count of Savoy

Humbert III, surnamed the Blessed, was Count of Savoy from 1148 to 1188. His parents were Amadeus III of Savoy and Mathilde d'Albon the daughter of Guigues III of Albon. He ceded rights and benefits to monasteries and played a decisive role in the organization of Hautecombe Abbey. It is said that he would rather have been monk than a sovereign. On the death of his third wife he retired to Hautecombe, but then changed his mind and, by his fourth wife finally had son, Thomas. He sided with the Guelph party of Pope Alexander III against the Ghibelline Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The result was an invasion of his states twice: in 1174 Susa was set on fire, and in 1187 Henry VI banished him from the Holy Roman Empire and wrested away most of his domains, of which he was left only with the valleys of Susa and Aosta. He died at Chambéry in 1189. He was the first prince buried at Hautecombe. His memorial day is March 4.